Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of the common general knowledge in the field.
Many countries place restrictions on domestic appliances such as the maximum power that can be drawn from a power outlet. For example, an appliance connected to a standard power outlet in the United States is only allowed to draw 1800 watts. In appliances that have more than one significant load element (e.g. heater load element and/or motor load element), each load element is typically selected such that the total power that may be drawn, assuming all load elements are on, does not exceed the regulatory power limit. An appliance having a plurality of load elements may result in a significant limitation in the power rating for each load element such that the total power that may be drawn, assuming all elements are on, does not exceed the regulatory limit.
There is a need in the art for an apparatus or method that can incorporate a plurality of load elements while meeting regulatory requirements of not drawing more than the regulated power, while incorporating load elements that have power ratings which sum to greater than a regulatory power limit.